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Financial Services UK
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August 08, 2024
UK Gov't Refunds £57M In Pension Freedoms Overtaxation
The government has been forced to repay £59.6 million ($75.5 million) in the three months between April and June to people who overpaid tax after they tapped into their pensions for the first time, according to HM Revenue and Customs.
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August 08, 2024
The Top Corporate Crime Cases Of 2024 So Far
The partial acquittal of two retired British executives on bribery charges as part of a major Serious Fraud Office investigation, the first bribery conviction of a foreign official and Julian Assange's shock plea deal are just a few of the blockbuster cases so far in 2024.
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August 08, 2024
FCA Proposes Framework For Long-Term Pensions Value
The finance watchdog has said it is planning a new "traffic light" guide for retirement investment plans as it seeks to improve long-term value in workplace pensions, shifting the emphasis for providers from a simple consideration of costs.
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August 08, 2024
Bank Of Cyprus To Quit LSE, Weighs Athens Move
Bank of Cyprus said Thursday that it plans to ditch its place on the London Stock Exchange in favor of a proposed listing on the Athens bourse, to boost its profile among investors in the region and enhance the liquidity of its shares.
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August 07, 2024
Asset Freeze Continuing In OneCoin Investor Claim
A London judge allowed a freezing order to continue Wednesday against eight people and four companies alleged to have been involved in the $4 billion OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, in an early stage of a group action claim brought by the scheme's investors.
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August 07, 2024
Adviser Tells Investor To Pay Up After €150M Investment
A real asset adviser has accused an investor of failing to pay for its services securing a €150 million ($164 million) investment.
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August 07, 2024
Thurrock Sues Advisers Over Bond Investment Guidance
A cash-strapped English local authority has sued Laven Advisors LLP for more than £20 million ($25.4 million), arguing that fraudulent statements by a representative of the regulatory host caused it to invest in high-risk bonds.
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August 07, 2024
Ex-Citibank Worker's Wages Claim Struck Out
An employment tribunal has refused to hear a former Citibank worker's claim that the lender unlawfully paid him nothing for his work, finding there is no evidence he did anything worth paying for after he knew his contract was terminated.
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August 07, 2024
Crypto-Asset Firms Must Improve On Compliance, FCA Says
The financial watchdog said Wednesday it has found that more work "needs to be done" to improve compliance with new marketing rules in many cases at crypto-asset companies
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August 07, 2024
Investment Co. Sues Rival Biz For Passing Off Qube TM
Qube Research & Technologies has sued a rival investment manager over the use of the word "Qube" in its branding, accusing it of trying to mislead consumers into believing that there is a connection between the companies.
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August 07, 2024
FCA Expands Leeds Office With 100 More Employees
Britain's financial watchdog announced plans on Wednesday to expand its presence in Leeds by adding 100 new employees to its workforce in the northern English city, reflecting the emergence of the region as a second financial center.
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August 07, 2024
Insurer Loses Appeal Over Romanian License Withdrawal
Euroins Insurance Group AD has lost its bid to challenge a refusal by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority to investigate why the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority withdrew the operating license of a subsidiary, the EU-wide regulator said Wednesday.
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August 07, 2024
Gov't Urges Pension Plans To Feed Infrastructure Spending
The government said Wednesday that it wants the U.K. to adopt a Canadian-style model for pensions, with a handful of megafunds investing in vital infrastructure projects to "fire up" the economy.
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August 07, 2024
EY Sanctioned For Breaching Fee Cap Over Russian Client
The accounting watchdog said Wednesday that it has ordered Ernst & Young LLP to pay just over £251,000 ($319,000) for breaching a fee cap on work it carried out for Evraz, a steel and mining group based in Russia.
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August 07, 2024
Asset Manager To Pay Investors €250M After FCA Probe
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that asset manager H20 AM LLP will pay €250 million ($272 million) to investors unable to gain access to funds since 2020 after the regulator found serious breaches of rules, including a failure to manage conflicts of interest and making false statements.
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August 06, 2024
Travel Biz Directors Misused Funds, Leaving £17.6M Shortfall
Directors of a defunct holiday tour operator left the company with a £17.6 million ($22.3 million) shortfall after racking up debts that were used to pay personal bills and transfer money to relatives, a London judge ruled Tuesday
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August 13, 2024
Davis Polk Hires PE Pro From A&O Shearman In London
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP said Tuesday that it has hired a private equity specialist from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling as a partner in its London corporate practice as the U.S. firm looks to seize "ripe" opportunities for growth in the City.
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August 06, 2024
Forfeiture Gives NCA's Rarely Used 'McMafia' Order A Boost
The seizure by the National Crime Agency of £22 million ($28 million) in properties from a banker's wife who is in prison allowed it to display its "McMafia" powers, although lawyers still have doubts about the future of the rarely-used enforcement tool.
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August 06, 2024
Senior SFO Official Heads For Exit After Less Than 2 Years
The Serious Fraud Office's chief operating officer is set to leave after less than two years on the job, leaving a vacancy at the top of the white-collar crime prosecutor as it undergoes a shake-up in leadership.
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August 06, 2024
BoE Identifies Resolution Issues At Top UK Banks
The Bank of England urged five major U.K. banks on Tuesday to make further enhancements in how they prepare for orderly failure in a report, identifying only at Standard Chartered a shortcoming that could impede resolution.
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August 06, 2024
Pension Body Urges Sector Tech Overhaul After CrowdStrike
The pension industry must take steps to bolster its data security or else put the life savings of millions of Britons at risk, experts warned Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Eversheds Steers Sale Of Kodak Unit By Pensions Lifeboat
The U.K. Pension Protection Fund has sold a business unit of photography giant Kodak to U.S. private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management in a deal steered by Eversheds Sutherland and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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August 06, 2024
Law Firm Sued Over Negligent Property 'Ponzi Scheme' Advice
Four investors have sued AI Law for £373,000 ($473,000) over the regional English firm's alleged failure to advise them that there is a risk their purchase of leases in apartments was an investment in a potential Ponzi scheme.
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August 06, 2024
Alternative Investor Great Point Enters Into Liquidation
Alternative investment fund manager Great Point Investments Ltd. has wound up its operations and liquidated its assets to pay off creditors after its parent company became insolvent, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Brown & Brown Buys Trade Credit Insurance Specialist
Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd. said Tuesday that it has bought trade credit insurance broker The CI Group Holdings Ltd. to expand its services for lenders and the small and midsized businesses in the U.K.
Expert Analysis
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How Boards Can Mitigate Privacy, Cybersecurity And AI Risks
In 2023, data privacy, cybersecurity and AI persist as prominent C-suite concerns as regulators stepped up enforcement, and organizations must develop a plan for handling these risks, in particular those with a global footprint, say lawyers at Latham.
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The Outlook For UK Restructuring Plans At Home And Abroad
The U.K. continues to be a center for large-cap, cross-border restructurings, though its competitive edge over the EU in this regard may narrow, while small and medium-sized enterprises are already likely to avoid costly formal processes by reaching out to their secured lenders for restructuring solutions, say Paul Keddie and Timothy Bromley-White at Macfarlanes.
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Foreign Assets Ruling Suggests New Tax Avoidance Approach
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in His Majesty's Revenue & Customs v. Fisher, which found that the scope of the transfer of foreign assets is narrow, highlights that the days of rampant tax avoidance have been left behind, and that the need for wide-ranging and uncertain tax legislation is lessening, says James Austen at Collyer Bristow.
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Lessons To Be Learned From 2023's Bank Failures
This year’s banking collapses, coupled with interest rate rises, inflation and geopolitical instability have highlighted the need for more robust governance, and banks and regulators have learned that they must adequately monitor and control liquidity risk to protect against another financial crisis, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
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An Overview Of European Private Investments in Public Equity
Although still fairly rare, private investments in public equity may continue to be an attractive option for some European issuers seeking to secure equity financing, and advisers planning such an investment should consider the various local options, requirements and norms, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Cos. Must Monitor Sanctions Regime As Law Remains Unclear
While recent U.K. government guidance and an English High Court's decision in Litasco v. Der Mond Oil, finding that a company is sanctioned when a designated individual is exercising control over it, both address sanctions control issues, disarray in the law remains, highlighting that practitioners should keep reviewing their exposure to the sanctions regime, say lawyers at K&L Gates.
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Unpacking The UK's Proposals To Regulate Crypto-Assets
Recent proposals for crypto-asset regulation in the U.K. demonstrate support for crypto's potential, but there is concern around the authorization process for organizations undertaking crypto-asset activities, and new regulations will require a more detailed assessment of firms' compliance not previously addressed, say Jessica Lee and Menelaos Karampetsos at Brown Rudnick.
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The Top 7 Global ESG Litigation Trends In 2023
To date, ESG litigation across the world can largely be divided into seven forms, but these patterns will continue developing, including a rise in cases against private and state actors, a more complex regulatory environment affecting multinational companies, and an increase in nongovernmental organization activity, say Sophie Lamb and Aleksandra Dulska at Latham.
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UK Takeover Code Changes: Key Points For Bidders, Targets
Newly effective amendments to Rule 21 of the U.K. Takeover Code, which remove legal and administrative constraints on a target operating its business in the ordinary way during an offer, will add clarity for targets and bidders, and are likely to be welcomed by both, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach
An English High Court's recent decision to grant an anti-suit injunction in the Russia-related dispute Renaissance Securities v. Chlodwig Enterprises clearly illustrates that obtaining an injunction will likely be more straightforward when the seat is in England compared to when it is abroad, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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How New Loan Origination Regime Will Affect Fund Managers
Although the recent publication of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive II represents more of an evolution than a revolution, the leverage limitations applicable to loan-originating funds are likely to present practical challenges for European credit fund managers, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting
The need for organizations to make nonfinancial disclosures under the recently adopted EU Sustainability Reporting Standards will significantly change workforce and human rights reporting, and with the objective of fostering transparency, should bring about an increased focus on risks, policies and action plans, say Philip Spyropoulos and Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.
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PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.